And here's part two, which I'm thinking about breaking apart into a seperate 
chapter.  Major changes are the beginning of this section, the shopping 
trip, and a expansion of the Senshi's first training session.

***********************************************************************

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 characters property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, 
Kitty, and Viz Video.  Sailor Moon characters property of Takeuchi Naoko, 
Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.  Ah! My Goddess property of 
Fujishima Kosuke, Kodansha, TBS and KSS films; AnimEigo, Studio Proteus, and 
Dark Horse Comics.  Other characters who may cameo are property of 
respective owners.  All are used without permission.  I did not write this 
for profit, but for practice.  Will be removed at request of original 
creators or authorized rep.

Zhu Shu (who shoo), Tao-Ching, Xi'an Chi (zy-an chee), and Clans' Dragon and 
Skorpion are mine, and may be used so long as I am asked beforehand.

***********************************************************************
The Mandarin: Book One

Chapter 2b: Unexpected Meetings
(Chapter Three: Revelations)

Zhu Shu walked the landscapes of memory, flitting from one dream to the next 
as she slept.  She was aware she was dreaming, and that she had been for 
some time, but wakefulness still eluded her, and she had finally allowed the 
dreams to take her where they will.  She had wandered the byways of her life 
until she found herself once more at the start of her journey, and stood 
again before a familiar door.

The pagoda was ancient; the oldest building in the village, but few people 
used it beyond Zhu Shu and her grandfather.  Most of the village was 
Buddhist and went to the temple on the cliff above the village.  Zhu Shu 
followed the ancient family beliefs and the Shrine of the Dragon had always 
felt more like home than the inn.  Whenever she was here, she had always 
felt like her family's guardian deity surrounded her and watched over her.  
She prayed he was with her today.

She bowed to the carved doors before entering the shrine, her bare feet 
making no noise on the intricately tiled floor.  She stopped silently at the 
edge of the Dragon mandala that filled the center of the single room and 
waited until the elderly man at the altar finished his meditations.  He 
looked up shortly and smiled.

"You are early for your lessons, Little Mouse."

Zhu Shu bowed.  "I have come to ask a question, Revered Grandfather."  She 
hoped the butterflies in her stomach did not show.

Her grandfather raised an eyebrow.  "So formal, Granddaughter?"  He folded 
his hands into the sleeves of his robe.  "It must be important indeed if you 
feel the need to approach as a supplicant."  He bowed at her.  "I will hear 
you, Granddaughter."

Zhu Shu took a deep breath as she straightened.  "I have heard mother 
talking to the revered magistrate."

He nodded.  "Go on, Little Mouse."

"Sung Li is unworthy of me." she said, head bowed.

"He is the son of the wealthiest man in the village.  His bloodline is pure. 
  His father is honored at the thought of joining his house to Clan Dragon.  
How is Sung Li unworthy?"

Zhu Shu took another breath to calm herself and hoped her grandfather would 
be willing to listen.  "He is lazy and lustful.  He has treated me as if I 
am already his and has laid hands on me in familiar ways. I despise him."

"It is not necessary for you to love him to do your duty.  What would you 
have me do, Little Mouse?  He is the only eligible boy in the village.  Had 
your father left you a brother, you would be free to follow your heart, but 
you are the last Dragon.  You must bear an heir."

Zhu Shu reddened in shame at her grandfather's implied disapproval, but 
forced herself to go on.  "I would quest for a husband who is worthy of me, 
Grandfather."

Her grandfather looked at her for what seemed like an eternity.  "You have 
been listening to the Amazon storyteller again, haven't you?"

Zhu Shu bowed.

"Would you quest as they do?  Seek a husband who can defeat you in battle?"

"I would."

"And would you insist that the man who defeats you marry you as they do?  
Whether they wish to or not?"

"No, Grandfather."

"Then what would you desire, Little Mouse?"

"A husband who loves me."

Her grandfather strode across the mandala to cup her chin in one strong hand 
as he searched her jade green eyes for a long moment.  Finally he looked 
away and in a barely audible whisper, spoke.  "So, it has finally come, as 
she said it must."  He turned away without explaining the remark.

"This quest may break your heart, beloved Little Mouse."

Zhu Shu said nothing, hoping against hope at the implication she would be 
allowed to go.

He sighed heavily and looked at the scarlet and gold Dragon that formed the 
altar.  "A suitor who can best you in combat would indeed be worthy of the 
name Song, and a husband who loves you would treat you as the treasure you 
are, Little Mouse..." The tone of resignation in his voice surprised her.  
"I would see you happy, Granddaughter.  Perhaps it is true that only in this 
way may it be found..."

He turned to her again.  "Go.  Fulfill your quest.  I will pray that the 
Dragon guides you to the happiness you will not find here..."

Zhu Shu bowed and turned to go, but as she was leaving, she caught a glimpse 
of her grandfather before the shrine doors closed.  The joy she felt at the 
approval of her quest was tempered by that glimpse.  Her grandfather had 
always been the strongest man she had ever known, always full of life and 
vitality despite his white hair.  Age had never bowed his shoulders...

Yet for that brief instant, he had seemed ...  old and frail....

* * * * *

Zhu Shu woke from her dreams of the past in a place far softer than she'd 
thought she'd be after the lightning dragon had bit her.  As her eyes 
opened, they focused on a vase of flowers that sat on the table beside the 
bed she was tucked into.  She stretched under the blankets, and, reluctant 
to leave the warmth of the bed, felt gingerly along her spine, where she 
remembered a burning sensation before blacking out.  Her skin felt fine, but 
the explorations confirmed she was nude under the blankets.  She looked 
around the room.

A cheongsam hung above a Japanese sword stand where both her swords were set 
with honor.  They had been cleaned and polished, and shone brightly, the 
tattered remnants of her ribbons replaced in red silk.  A small meditation 
mat had been set before the swords, and Zhu Shu smiled at the 
thoughtfulness.  She peeled back the blankets and stood, her ankle giving 
her barely a twinge.

She stepped over to the mat and sat on her knees to begin her exercises.  
She opened her chakras first and purged her channels of the chaotic energy 
she'd absorbed from the lightning and the huge surge as she began to 
re-establish her normal flows.  She was surprised that her environment 
seemed to be free of the typical disruptions she was used to dealing with in 
cities.  The local energy was clean, almost purified, which could only mean 
she was in a shrine.  It took her less time than anticipated to clear the 
wild energy out.  Calm again, she reached out to re-link with her swords.  A 
strong surge swept back through her channels as her hands touched the hilts 
and a wave of dizziness washed over her.  She shuddered, and shook her head 
to clear it.  Apparently, the bolt had left her farther off center than she 
had thought.  She closed her eyes and sought her center, grounding herself 
before she placed the swords behind her back.

Pleased her control was returning, she focused her chi along the side of her 
hand and began to clear her body of all the hair that had sprouted since she 
had been knocked unconscious, the exercise one her grandfather had insisted 
on to teach her fine control of the Dragon's Claw technique, now performed 
as a calming routine.  Once again hairless from the neck down, she relaxed, 
assured she was once more in control of herself.  She stood and stretched 
again before starting her katas.

Her warm-up routine took about twenty minutes, and her ankle gave her almost 
no trouble, a sign she'd been unconscious at least a few days.  She healed 
quickly if she meditated, but as badly as she had wrenched it, there was no 
way it could have healed this far if she had only been unconscious a night.  
She finished with her workout and stood in front of the mirror on the 
folding screen, examining herself.  She seemed to have no burns, and her 
hair had only a few frazzled ends.  Somehow, other than her extended 
unconsciousness, she'd survived the bolt almost unscathed.  Her eyes locked 
for a moment on the slit pupiled eyes of her guardian in the reflection of 
her tattoo and she smiled.  Grandfather _had_ asked for him to watch over 
her, after all.  She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment.  When 
she opened them, the tattoo had vanished.  Satisfied, she reached up for the 
silk dress.

A few minutes later, she stepped from the room into a hallway.  A quick 
search along the hall showed her a small bedroom piled with clothes and lots 
of thin books full of pictures and Japanese text.  A second door led into 
the main shrine area.  As she stepped into the large room, she saw a girl on 
the outer steps sweeping.  The girl looked up at Zhu Shu's entrance, "Hello. 
  It's good to see you awake."

Zhu Shu jumped back, her swords flashing into her hands.  She knew that 
aura, "Why?  Wait for second chance to kill Zhu Shu?!"

The girl looked puzzled, then alarmed, "Wha- ...  Why would I- ... you think 
I- you think I tried to kill you?"

"Zhu Shu not fool!  Not wear Sailor suit, but aura not lie!  Sailor Mars try 
kill Zhu Shu once already!  She game for rematch!!"

Panicked, the girl stepped inside and slammed the shrine doors closed.  Zhu 
Shu stepped further back into the hall, watching the girl warily, but not 
wanting to fight in a shrine.  Rei turned to her, hands up, "Wait!  Please!  
Will you accept my word as a Shinto priestess that I mean you no harm?!"

Zhu Shu blinked as her swords lowered, "Priestess!?!"

Rei nodded.  "Hai.  Rei Hino, priestess of Hikawa Shrine, Juuban ward."

"Why priestess attack Zhu Shu?" the Mandarin girl asked in wonder.

Rei looked downcast.  "I- I made a mistake,  I ... thought you were 
possessed.  I wanted to exorcise you.  We didn't know you were under a 
spell."

Zhu Shu put her swords away and put her hands on her hips, "Nearly kill with 
lightning.  Zhu Shu not build tolerance from Lum, maybe _would_ kill!"

Rei's face flamed with shame as she answered in a small voice, "I know.  I- 
I am sorry.  I didn't know."

Zhu Shu hesitated, then nodded, "Can accept.  Zhu Shu knows about bad 
spirits.  Priestess must fight."  She cocked her head, "Beside.  If want 
dead, Zhu Shu not wake up at all.  Had two day to kill at least."

Rei seemed to deflate in relief, "Thank you."  She looked around to double 
check that they were alone, then looked back at Zhu Shu, "How can you know 
I'm Sailor Mars though?

Zhu Shu cocked an eyebrow, "Rei is priestess?  Not know auras?"

"You- you can see auras?"

Zhu Shu nodded.

Rei leaned against the wall.  "That- that is incredibly dangerous for both 
of us.  Spirits help me, but I have no idea what to do about you.  I- I have 
to call the others," she looked up at Zhu Shu, "Please don't be alarmed when 
they arrive.  I- I won't let anyone hurt you, and I'd rather die than cause 
you further harm, but we must decide what we should do about you.  There are 
creatures out there who would stop at nothing to enslave you for the 
knowledge you possess."

Zhu Shu sighed as she put her swords away.  "Why not surprised.  Is okay.  
Call friends.  Zhu Shu have more important thing do."  She rubbed her flat 
belly,  "Zhu Shu hungry.  Make lunch...."

* * * * *

Rei sat on the temple steps waiting for the other Senshi a few minutes 
later, trying to figure the Chinese girl out.  She had presented mystery 
after mystery since her appearance, and Rei had a hard time getting her out 
of her mind.  There was something about her that ...  Minako's arrival 
disrupted her train of thought.  The leggy blonde looked askance at Rei's gi 
top and skirt, "I thought this was a Scout meeting?"

Rei shrugged, "It is."

"Shouldn't you change?"

Rei shook her head, "There's no point."

Minako looked at her oddly, but as Ami and Makoto arrived with Usagi, she 
refrained from any more questions.

"Hi, guys!  What's up?" Usagi asked brightly, then saw Rei, "Whoops!  What's 
going on?"

Rei looked over her shoulder at the closed shrine doors, "We have a 
problem."

"Oh, no!  Don't tell me she died?!!"  Usagi looked horrified, both fists 
pressed together under her mouth, "Wahhhh!!!  We killed her!!!!"  Streams of 
tears poured from her eyes.

"Will you dry up!!!" Rei shouted.  Usagi froze, her ponytails straight out 
behind her from the force of Rei's shout.  Rei crossed her arms and tapped 
her fingers as she growled, "Just come inside and see for yourself."

Rei stormed into the shrine, followed by the other girls, and stopped at the 
cheerful "Nihao!" from Zhu Shu.  She stared at the small grill and wok, the 
cloth laid out on the floor with full place settings, and the nearly 
complete meal Zhu Shu was cooking.  Where had Zhu Shu gotten all this?  And 
how?  She'd only been outside for ten minutes!

"Oh, wow!  Chinese!" Usagi cried.

Zhu Shu finished chopping vegetables for her stir-fry and turned the shrimp 
over on her grill before she looked up, "Sailor Rei say must talk.  Never 
talk on not full stomach.  Come!  Eat!"

Ami looked over at the priestess, "Sailor ...  Rei?!"

Rei nodded as she led the way to the table setting, "That's what we need to 
talk about ...."

* * * * *

It had been a tough two days for Ranma.  His first day of school had ended 
up being as much of a disaster as his meeting with the Tendos.  He hadn't 
even made it to school before he'd been doused, and Akane had had to get him 
some hot water from the crazy Doctor she was sweet on.

Then he'd watched as Akane plowed her way through the school's boys just to 
get in the gate.  Then he'd had a fight with the mad kendoist, Kuno.  He 
would have won if it hadn't rained.  Changing back had made him late to 
class and he'd had to stand in the hall with Akane.  Then Kuno had to go and 
attack him again.  And to top it off, he'd molested him in the pool!  And to 
add insult to injury, Kuno had gone and insulted his bravery, so he had had 
to beat him into the ground!  For most people, that would have been enough, 
but not for Kuno!  No!  He'd had to go and issue a challenge to Ranma's girl 
side too!

So here he stood, waiting in the field by the school, ticking off the 
minutes till the appointed hour, getting more and more pissed.  He wasn't 
going to settle for unconsciousness this time!

At precisely ten o'clock, Kuno appeared.  "So.  You have come, my tree borne 
kettle girl!"

Annoyed, Ranma shot back.  "You don't learn quick, do you pal?"  He looked 
around for Kuno's boken, but it was nowhere to be seen.  "Where's your 
sword?!"

"Heh."  Kuno smiled.  "I have no need of a sword."

"Yeah?  Pretty confident, I guess."

"Confident enough to give you-" with a sudden motion, Kuno threw something.  
"-THIS!!"

Ranma caught it easily, intending to throw it back, but the odd way it 
crinkled drew his attention.  He lowered it slowly, not believing his eyes.

Kuno blushed as he turned to walk away, but Ranma heard him clearly.  "I 
love you..."

Wide eyed in shock, Ranma could only stare after him...  Then his legs gave 
way and he slid to his knees, setting and holding the roses as a wind blew 
the petals away.

The only thought he could form was to recall Zhu Shu's words from the pond, 
and realize how right she had been....

* * * * *

Urd groaned as the morning sun attacked her, bludgeoning its way through her 
eyeballs to laughingly sizzle her brain cells.  Throwing her arm up to try 
and block the grinning orb just made things worse as she immediately had to 
lurch to the bathroom.

As she stepped out of the bathroom and made her way to the dining room, she 
found herself looking at a Chinese girl doing exercises in front of the 
shrine.  Curiouity fighting nausea, she headed towards the kitchen, hunting 
for her sister.  "Hey, Belldandy!  Who's the girl practicing in the 
courtyard?"

Belldandy poked her head out of the kitchen, and smiled.  "Her name is Shan 
Pu. She's your assignment."

Urd made a noise that might have been "Urk!" and froze, the sick look on her 
face more than just the hangover as vauge memories returned.  "Um ... Sis 
...  I'm on _PROBATION_, remember?!"

"I know!"  Belldandy beamed, "Isn't it wonderful?  Kami-Sama is giving you a 
chance to get your license back!  The temporary Sysop dropped off the 
documents yesterday"

"Yesterday?  How long was I out?"

"Well, you were drinking for most of a week before Urd and I saw the 
transmittal beam.  You've been sleeping since then.  The Sysop said you'd 
blown most of your energy on the transmittal, since it was an unscheduled 
wish.  Father was a trifle upset at that, but he said he's willing to 
overlook it, providing you did well on granting the wish.  Isn't that 
great?"

"Uh, yeah ... great," Urd muttered, her head pounding.  How Belldandy could 
see the bright side of what was sure to be a hellish assignment, she could 
never understand.  And how the hell did she get stuck with a wish case?  She 
couldn't even remember transmitting the wish clearly.  Surely it couldn't 
have been a valid wish?   It shouldn't have counted.

The phone rang.  Urd lurched around to stare at it in horror.

Oblivious to her sister's state, Belldandy called to her, "Urd?  Could you 
get that?  My hands are covered in flour."

Urd swallowed.  Hard.

Picking up the phone, she answered, "H-hello?"

Belldandy finished her dumplings and washed her hands, then went into the 
hall to see her sister still standing by the phone, her hair blown into 
disarray and a frozen grimace on her face.

"Urd?" a concerned Belldandy asked.

"I'm doomed," Urd croaked.

* * * * *

Shan Pu finished her practice session in the courtyard and sat at the 
entrance to the shrine to meditate.  She hadn't really meant to spend the 
last two days here, but the place just radiated such an aura of peace and 
tranquility, like Zhu Shu when she was cooking, only magnified a thousand, 
ten thousand times.  She'd found the last couple of days to be a perfect 
remedy to the depression she'd felt on arriving here.

And Belldandy had clarified what had happened as Urd recovered from her 
multi day drinking binge.  It seemed the white haired goddess wasn't the 
perfect being one might think a goddess would be, but the wish was real 
enough.  Belldandy had verified it with her home office.  It had just been a 
matter of waiting until Urd had slept everything off.  Meanwhile, Shan Pu 
had been told to just relax and recupuerate.

She'd so rarely had truly quiet times like this at the Amazon village.  She 
had so much to live up to as Ke Lun's great-granddaughter, and she'd trained 
hard all of her life.  It had been the joy of her life to be Champion!  Then 
one kick from Ranma had changed all of it.

At first, it had been such a humiliation.  To have been bested so easily by 
an outsider!  A non-Amazon!  The shame of being defeated so quickly had been 
more than she could bear.  She'd been so gleeful to give her the Kiss of 
Death!

Then Zhu Shu had told her the truth about Ranma, and it had all changed 
again.

The Amazon mindset was peculiar.  Men were considered the caretakers, women 
the warriors.  For a man to possess the skill to defeat an Amazon warrior 
was a sign he would give her strong children.  The Amazons were not a 
numerous tribe and survival was very important.  She could not let a prize 
like Ranma get away!  All Zhu Shu's tales had done was increase the burning 
desire she had for him. She found her thoughts returning to the day of their 
fight constantly, the flash of blue eyes, the sun on red hair....

Despite Zhu Shu's descriptions, her mind could not conjure up a male version 
of Ranma's face.  Her mind refused to stop glorifying the image beyond any 
sort of reality.  If his female side was so beautiful, what a handsome man 
he had to be!

Shan Pu sighed and dismissed her daydream.  She believed Belldandy's 
assurance that her wish had been approved, and that now the Ultimate Force, 
and Urd, were at work, she just wished they would work faster.

But, then, Shan Pu really had no idea how big her wish was....

* * * * *

Usagi was so busy stuffing her face she could barely mumble, "So what?" when 
Rei told them Zhu Shu could read their auras well enough to identify them, 
but Ami realized what she meant right off.

"You mean she can see through our disguises?" she asked, looking around at 
the other Senshi, still in their uniforms.

Rei nodded.  "She took one look at me and knew I was the same girl who had 
led the attack on her.  And with the speed of her reactions, I doubt I could 
have changed in time before she would have cut me to ribbons.  I'm glad she 
went on the defensive at first and gave me a chance to talk."

"Zhu Shu never attacks first.  And would not kill priestess.  Much bad 
Karma.  Only sought to stop from casting spell first night.  But can see 
would take as attack," the Chinese girl added, without looking up from her 
cooking.

Ami looked over to where Zhu Shu was chopping vegetables for a second round 
of stir fry.  The knife moved almost too quickly to see as the vegetables 
appeared to fairly fly into the wok.  Despite the aura of happy tranquility 
Zhu Shu exuded, Ami had no trouble contemplating what those knives could do 
to her before she could say "Shabon Spray" and shuddered as Makoto looked on 
jealously at the speed with which Zhu Shu was making the meal.

The gruesome thought sparked a revelation in the studious girl's mind.  She 
looked over at Rei in sudden understanding, "You didn't transform so she 
wouldn't feel threatened...."

Rei nodded, "And also because there was no point to it.  She'll recognize me 
in any disguise.  It would take years to learn how to change my ki aura 
enough for me to hide from her."

Ami nodded, noting the raised eyebrow of the Chinese girl, "I agree."  She 
took out her wand and stepped away from the table.  "Mercury Power, Makeup!"

Usagi looked at her, a pair of chopsticks halfway to her mouth, "Whatcha do 
that for?  Now she'll recognize you."

Rei glared at her, "Haven't you listened to a thing I've said?!"

Usagi emptied another bowlful of stir fry, "I've listened!"

"Then what did I say?" Rei challenged.

"Um ..." Usagi thought, but couldn't answer.

Rei buried her face in her hands.

"Usagi, what Rei-chan said was that Zhu Shu can see who we are whether we 
are in Sailor Senshi guise or not," Ami sat down. "I think she has a point.  
We can't hide from her, and she already knows too much about us for us to 
just ignore her.  We should make friends.  She's far too dangerous for us 
not to.  We can't afford for her to be an enemy," she turned to Zhu Shu and 
bowed, "I am Ami Mizuno.  Juuban Junior High."

Zhu Shu bowed back, "Song Zhu Shu of Clan Dragon.  Song school of Sword 
Dance," she intoned formally, giving her full name.  They were trusting her 
with a secret, after all.

Usagi looked at them and muttered.  "Luna will be sooo pissed about this if 
she ever finds out ...."  but she took out her locket.

* * * * *

When introductions had been made all around, and the third round of stir fry 
had been eaten, the question and answers began.  Zhu Shu told about her 
quest ... (Wow!  You mean they still do things like that?  _Sigh_  That's 
sooo romantic!) (Hush Usagi!  Let her finish!) ... and the Senshi had told 
her about the fight with Queen Beryl and how they had just defeated an alien 
pair who had been stealing life energy.  Zhu Shu forgave them for thinking 
she might have been a Cardian.  She could understand the mistake, and the 
fact that the Senshi would assume she was one of those creatures in her 
cursed form.

Still, they did owe her for the destruction of her clothes, and they decided 
to take her to the Ginza and do some shopping for some ... or so they said.  
Zhu Shu found out quickly that "shopping" meant running from store to store 
trying different makeup and squealing over "cute" outfits....

"Oh, come on, Zhu Shu, you just _have_ to try this eyeshadow!" Minako 
squealed.  "It'll make the boys just drool over you!"

Zhu Shu looked at the eyeshadow in question, a dubious electric shade of 
blue, and shook her head.  "Zhu Shu have own makeup, Mina-chan.  No need for 
more."

"How about this one?"  She held up a color even more eyeshattering.  Zhu Shu 
shook her head again, and tried to deflect the exuberant shopaholic by 
pointing to a display of jewelry that didn't look too tawdry.

"Zhu Shu need hair oraments more than makeup."

The blonde girl's eyes sparkled as she took in the shiny objects on the 
counter, and she nearly dove to inspect them closer.  Zhu Shu breathed a 
sigh of relief and turned to find Rei just behind her, and she jumped in 
surprise.

"Do you like this dress?" Rei asked, smoothing out the fifteenth dress in as 
many minutes.  This one actually a decent cheongsam in a pattern of red and 
gold.  Zhu Shu gave it a once over and nodded.

"Rei look nice.  Zhu Shu think dress very pretty."

"There's a whole bunch on sale over there.  Maybe they have your size!"

Zhu Shu examined the dress more critically, noting the loose stitching along 
the seams, and the poor quality of the silk compared to the dresses she had 
lost.  There was no way the dress would withstand a practice session.  
Still, she allowed Rei to lead her to the table with the dresses and 
searched through them to find the ones that might fit her.  After trying 
them on, she decided they would work for casual wearing, and with a 
philosophical shrug, she resigned herself to more early morning katas again. 
  Sooner or later, she had to find a real dressmaker.

Hunting for panties had proven even worse than looking for dresses.   Zhu 
Shu had never seen anything like some of the "underwear" the senshi showed 
her.  Zhu Shu blinked repeatedly at the various outfits the girls 
demonstrated at a store called by the strange name "Fredericks of 
Hollywood."  While she found the outfits rather intrigueing, especially when 
Mina and Rei actually dared each other to try some on, they were far too 
impractical.  Nor were the versions she found for sale in any of the other 
stores the girls visited.  After veiwing the various uncomfortable looking 
whisps of silk, she decided she'd just have to endure a few drafts until she 
found what she needed.

Following the trip, Rei invited Zhu Shu to stay at the temple until she had 
found Ranma.  Zhu Shu thought that would be a better alternative than Lum's 
saucer.  It would certainly be safer, Makoto wouldn't throw lightning bolts 
as casually as Lum, and she'd be safe from Ataru.  A quick call had resulted 
in a visit by the Oni, and her "Darling", to deliver the few things she'd 
left in the saucer, including her mountain of stuffed toys, but socializing 
was cut short when Lum found Ataru hitting on Minako and Usagi.  Makoto 
rated the lightning blasts at a 6.9, but the rest of the Senshi gave them 
8's.

They spent the rest of the afternoon telling each other about their 
adventures, and Zhu Shu promised to not tell anyone about their secret.  She 
also told them a little about her style, and after several requests, 
demonstrated one of the actual dances her form was based on.  She was 
immediately besieged following the dance with pleas to teach them a few 
steps. She finally capitulated, but made them promise to learn the whole 
style, not just the dances.

Hearing them talk, she had come to realize only Makoto had any formal 
martial arts training and that they relied solely on their powers.  She got 
five eager students who promised to show up for daily lessons after school, 
providing their Sailor duties didn't interfere.

And five best friends.

* * * * *

Urd looked through the folder Belldandy had given her, looking more and more 
despondent.  Kami-Sama had to be punishing her for that whole bit about the 
Terrible Master, and the unauthorized wish.  Okay, so maybe taking Shan Pu 
on as a client because she was dead drunk might not be the _absolutely_ 
stupidest thing she'd ever done, but the wish _had_ been validated, and now 
it was up to her to help grant it.

But by the Heavens, she'd never seen such a tangled wish!  Most wishes could 
be granted in seconds by the Ultimate Force, but Shampoo's wish had been 
vauge enough that an immediate resolution couldn't be decided on by 
Yggdrasil, so it had kicked it back as a direct supervison case.  So now, 
_she_ had to find a solution that would satisfy the conditions that Shan 
Pu's subconscious had set.  She sighed.  Well, a wish was a wish, and she 
was a Goddess!  Second Class!

Or at least one on probation....

She slumped, resting her head on one hand as she looked down at the folder 
yet again and read the original destiny.  Poor Shan Pu was to have been 
destined to be a failure, trying time and again to win Ranma's love, but 
doomed to never succeed.  Urd could sympathize ... She had days like that 
too.  No ... let's be honest ... she'd had years like that!  In fact, she'd 
swear she was having a year like that now!

Sheesh!  She'd just been trying to help out her little sister!  It wasn't 
her fault Belldandy was such an innocent!  Or that Keichii couldn't get a 
single one of her plans right!  Or that Mara had had to follow them all to 
Earth, or that-

A rumble of thunder derailed that train of thought and she hastily went back 
to reading the folder.

Ranma.  Akane.  Shan Pu.  Ukyo.  Kodachi.  Tatewaki.  Mu Tse.  Zhu Shu.  
Ryouga. Nabiki.  Tao-Ching.  Nodoka.  Ke Lun.  Rei...

Her head started to spin as she looked over the alternate threads of 
destiny.  So many people impacted by this one wish!  It was worse than her 
favorite soap opera!  And the further one got into the future, the worse it 
got!

Maybe she could get Skuld to help her out by calling future Urd and asking 
her how _she'd_ done it.  A glance up at the boiling cloud that had appeared 
over her let her know what Kami-Sama thought of that idea.  She sighed 
again.  Dad hadn't forbidden her to ask her sisters for help, after all, her 
domain was the past, but just as obviously, he wasn't going to allow her to 
cheat either.  She had to come up with a plan on her own.

It shouldn't be _that_ hard.  It was fairly routine goddess work after all.  
It's just she couldn't remember the last time _any_ goddess had been given a 
mess quite _this_ tangled....

Then again, she couldn't recall any _other_ goddesses giving out a wish 
while drunk either....

Did she really want her license back that much?

Yes.  Yes, she did.  She wasn't cut out to be a mortal and she really didn't 
want to take the only other option open to her.  Demon, Third class, limited 
was not a title she'd be able to bear.  Mara would never let her live it 
down!

No.  Kami-Sama had made it quite clear this was her _last_ chance to get her 
license back, and had been very explicit with the descriptions of exactly 
what failure meant to her personally.  She imagined her face with the twin 
red slashes she'd borne as the Terrible Master and shuddered.  Maybe mortal 
life _was_ better....

She leafed through the folder again, and sighed once more.  At least there 
wasn't much she could do to make the situation worse!  It was a time bomb 
all on its own.

She closed her eyes and checked the variables with Yggdrasil, the tattoos on 
her face glowing briefly, and shook her head in disbelief.  This had the 
potential to spawn four blood feuds, one of which could lead to a major war 
that could escalate into a world war.  Another timeline led to a world 
controlled by Chaos.  A third led to a long and bloody vendetta that ended 
with all of the principle participants dead or suicides.  Yet another led to 
Shan Pu's death at Ranma's hands.  She kept running through alternate 
timelines, amazed by the sheer number of    possibilities.  Ranma blood 
cursed by Shan Pu in a futile attempt to win his love.  Shan Pu commiting 
seppuku in shame following Ranma's marriage.  Shan Pu falling in love with 
Akane and helping her kill off her rivals before sneaking away with her 
forever.  Shan Pu, Akane and a kunoichi...

Urd shuddered, it could all get out of hand so easily.

_Face it Urd-_  She told herself,  _There is no easy solution to this one.  
You're actually going to have to work at it!_

And that, she had to admit, was probably why Kami-Sama had made it a test.

She glared at nothing and pouted.  She felt so picked upon.  Belldandy would 
never have a test like this!

Then again, Belldandy would never get herself put on probation either.  Or 
drunk.  In fact, Belldandy could _probably_ solve this tangle, so all Urd 
had to do was try hard to think what Belldandy would do.

So what would Belldandy do?  Urd thought for long moments before it finally 
occurred to her.  Belldandy would try to find a way to make everybody happy.

She scowled.  It was a perfectly _obvious_ answer, the only question was 
how....

She checked with Yggdrasil again, running profiles of all of the varied 
characters in her little drama, and a germ of an idea began to form in her 
mind.  She thought and checked personalities, cross checked compatibilities, 
and all the while a smile grew wider and wider on her face.  As she finished 
laying out the possibilities to Yggdrasil, the world computer laid out 
possible courses of action.

She laughed.  She could do it!  She knew she could!

After all, she was a Goddess of Love, right?

She gave herself a hug of delight then exploded into a dozen chibi Urds, all 
zipping off in different directions to check on the players in her little 
game.  Behind her, forgotten on the step, the folder lay unattended, but not 
for long.  As the shadow of a tree fell across the folder, a figure emerged.

In form, she looked much like Urd, with pale blonde hair, only the scarlet 
split V on her forehead and the double triangles on her cheeks made her look 
more sinister.  She smiled, a long, slow smile that showed extended canines, 
and bent to pick up the folder.  She flipped through it slowly.

"So," she said.  "Urd has a new assignment.  How ... interesting ..."  She 
came to the final page. She looked over it for long moments, a wild light 
beginning to grow in her eyes.  She laughed maniacally, "Urd, Demon, Third 
class, Limited!"  She hugged the folder to her chest, "Now, I will be able 
to get my revenge!"  She hissed, "I will pay her back for making me her 
slave!  For trying to feed me to Fenrir!"  She dropped the folder back on 
the step, "I will make the Terrible Master bow before me!"  She stepped back 
into the shadows, her laughter now indistinguishable from sobs.  As she 
faded from view, a final whisper could be heard, "Finally, Urd will be mine 
once more...."

With a last whisper of wind, Mara vanished back into the shadows.

* * * * *

Tuesday morning in Juuban found Zhu Shu up and performing her forms at a 
small pool behind the temple.  She was regretting more than ever that her 
travels had been so hard on her clothes.  The Senshi had been kind enough to 
buy her a few new dresses to replace the ones they'd destroyed, but the 
machine made silk just wasn't as good as the ones she had lost.  She 
especially regretted losing her new practice dresses, the gifts from Ke Lun 
and Shan Pu.  They had been her only clothes that could endure the 
contortions she put her body through in practice, which meant that once 
again, she had to do her exercises in the nude.

It wasn't that she really minded that; she was discovering that it was 
actually kind of refreshing to not have to pull a stretch because the cloth 
of her dress bound, but Rei's grandfather was nearly as bad a letch as Ataru 
had been and she was having to get up at dawn to do her exercises before he 
woke, otherwise she would have had to deal with him spying on her.  But at 
dawn, she had the small pool all to herself.

She had spent yesterday helping Rei around the temple, until it was time to 
go to school, then she had searched the schools around Juuban for signs of 
Ranma.  After school, she had given the Senshi their first lessons...

* * * * *

Zhu Shu stood at side wall of the shrine, the senshi before her dressed in 
their physical education outfits in lieu of gi.  Makoto had brought hers, 
but had decided to match the rest of her friends and Rei had loaned Zhu Shu 
one of her spare sets as none of the dresses they had bought were suitable 
for her to teach in.

They had been forced to send both Yuuchiriou and Rei's grandfather out on 
errands just to get a chance to practice without the pair of them trying to 
sneak peeks at them, but even so, they had elected to practice in the 
shrine's main room for privacy.

As Zhu Shu looked over the group, only Makoto seemed to be doing stretches 
to warm up for practice.  She cleared her throat to get everyone's 
attention.

"Zhu Shu need now what skill senshi have before can know how train." she 
began when every was looking at her. "Song school take much practice to do 
dance, and will be some time before Zhu Shu teach attacks, but if have 
training already, may make easier."

"Well, I practice some martial arts." Makoto said,  "but I'm the only one of 
us who does.  I also do gymnastics."

Zhu Shu looked around at the rest of the senshi, with a raised eyebrow.  "No 
know even basics?  How you win fights with evil?"

The senshi looked at each other and Usagi shrugged.  "Usually, we blast the 
bad guys with our powers."

Zhu Shu nodded.  "But what if attack when not transformed?"

Usagi shrugged, "Then I just transform and blast 'em."

Zhu Shu nodded.  "Show transform."

Usagi shrugged and pulled out her locket.  A few moments later, Zhu Shu 
sniffed and rubbed her nose as Sailor Moon did a Ta Da in front of her, then 
nodded.

"Zhu Shu see how that could distract until transformation done, but it take 
too long."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

Zhu Shu sighed.  "Zhu Shu, or any enemy who quick, could take senshi out 
before could transform."

"Yeah, like that could happen." Usagi said cockily.  "No-one's that fast."

Zhu Shu raised her eyebrow.  "Let ask this.  Does transform restore senshi?"

Ami nodded.  "Yes, when ever we henshin, it heals us of damage.  And we can 
withstand a lot more when in Senshi form."

Zhu Shu nodded.  "Good.  Usagi, change back."

Usagi did so, while the rest of the senshi looked at Zhu Shu curiously.   
She had her eyes closed and seemed to be meditating.  A faint glow of green 
grew around her.  As Usagi finished her change, Zhu Shu opened her eyes 
again.

"Now.  Senshi change and attack."

The senshi looked at each other, then Makoto shrugged.  "Okay, she's asking 
for it."  The others nodded and pulled out their henshin wands.

A whirwind exploded through the room as the five girls found themselves 
caught in what was for all intents a natural disaster.  Zhu Shu had vanished 
into the wind as they found their wands ripped from their hands and their 
bodies impacted with the power of a speeding car.  As a group, they went 
flying, and several impacted the shrines walls with the crunch of broken 
bones.

In less then five seconds, the wind stopped to reveal Zhu Shu standing in 
the middle of the shrine, holding four wands and a locket.  Rei righted 
herself from the tangle she found herself in and groaned.  "I think you 
broke my wrist."

The other girls groaned in agreement.  Zhu Shu nodded.  "Yes.  Do senshi 
think enemy do less?  Zhu Shu at least not do major injury.  But think has 
made point.  Senshi should learn fight with bodies and mind.  Not rely on 
powers."

She handed the wands and locket back out to the wimpering girls and made 
them transform to senshi and back.  A lot more seriously, they gathered back 
before Zhu Shu again.

"Did you have to hurt us so much?" Usagi whined as she rubbed the sore spot 
where her arm had been broken.  "I thought you were our friend?"

Zhu Shu nodded.  "Yes.  But senshi have chosen the path of warrior.  There 
no avoiding pain.  Zhu Shu will train, will try make senshi better warrior, 
but must make sure they are serious.  Is not game.  If story told Zhu Shu 
true, Senshi face foes have no mercy.   Is why Zhu Shu agree train.  Senshi 
Zhu Shu friends.  Not be good friend let go fight untrained."

Rei and Makoto nodded, while Usagi pouted, but she nodded too.  Ami looked a 
little unsure, but game to continue, while Minako grinned.

"Hey, I've had worse doing stunts for my movies.  I can't wait to try some 
of your moves on the set." the blonde sailor grinned.  Zhu Shu smiled back 
and started her lessons on basic stretches...

* * * * *

As Zhu Shu finished her more advanced versions of those same stretches, she 
smiled at the memory of the senshi's clumsy attempts to duplicate her easy 
motions.  Then she let out a giggle at the thought of how their eyes would 
bug out if they could see her morning exercises!  Pulling her swords from 
behind her back, she settled into a form and reflected about her new friends 
and how welcome they had made her.

Still, nice as the gaggle of fifteen year old girls were, she had to find 
Ranma and fufill her quest.

She stopped in mid form as she realized she was no longer alone.  She 
turned, swords ready, to face the intruder.

Standing in the shade of a cherry tree was a beautiful woman with tousled 
blonde hair.  She was dressed in an ornate outfit of black and red that 
despite it's intricacy left little to the imagination.  A scarlet split V 
tattoo adorned her forehead and twin double triangles defined her cheeks.  
She smiled and Zhu Shu saw a hint of tooth at the corners of her smile.

"Song Zhu Shu?" the sinister looking woman asked.

Zhu Shu's eyes narrowed.

The woman spent a long moment looking Zhu Shu over like she was a delicacy 
she was about to devour, then said, "If you want to find Ranma Saotome, be 
here at this time."  She walked up to Zhu Shu like a stalking cat, and stuck 
a folded piece of paper on the end of one sword.

Zhu Shu tried to move, but the woman's gaze held her frozen, something in 
her eyes trapping her will, draining her of all hope, all strength.  She 
felt like a mouse fixated by a snake.  The woman walked around her, looking 
her up and down, "How interesting.  You can actually sense my true nature?" 
she purred.  Zhu Shu shivered, the tones of the woman's voice sending chills 
through her soul. "Usually, only priests like your fifteen year old defender 
over there can do that."

Zhu Shu heard a gulp, and the sound of hurried chanting.

The woman laughed evilly, unconcerned, "Don't bother.  I'm only here to pass 
a message and was leaving anyway.  Besides, that charm won't have any effect 
on me dear."  She gave Rei a grin that promised all the tortures of hell 
before she turned and walked back towards the shadows under the trees.  At 
the edge of the shadow, she turned and looked back over her shoulder, "Don't 
forget to say hi to his fianc�e for me!"  She laughed as the shadows seemed 
to leap and engulf her and she faded from view.

Rei rushed up and grabbed Zhu Shu in a hug from behind, "Are you ok?  I was 
so afraid for you.  She radiated such evil she had to be a demon or an evil 
spirit!  I woke up as soon as I felt her presence and ran down here!"  She 
hugged Zhu Shu tighter.

Distracted, Zhu Shu answered.  "Zhu Shu fine, but could Rei please let go of 
breast?  After way woman look at, Zhu Shu really not in mood."

She could feel Rei's blush of embarrassment right through the girl's pajamas 
as she reached to pluck the slip of paper from the end of her sword.

It had two items.  A time, and the name Furinkan.

* * * * *

A few hours later, Zhu Shu stood on the roof of an apartment building near 
the school Rei had directed her to as Ranma was pulled past by a pretty 
Japanese girl who had him by his braid.  She had debated about the meaning 
of the mysterious visitor, but it seemed she had been a godsend.  Zhu Shu 
followed Ranma, studying the girl.  She seemed pretty enough, but her 
motions seemed clumsy, almost too powerful.  She brought to mind the image 
of a young tiger cub, and Zhu Shu could only imagine how beautiful she could 
be if she learned to be graceful....

Zhu Shu stopped that dangerous line of thought.  That's how she and Ying 
Ying....

Her thoughts were interrupted by her quarry's arrival at school.  She found 
a vantage in a tree just as the girl slammed Ranma into the wall just inside 
the gate at Furinkan High.

"Listen Ranma!  Why don't you keep your big mouth-"

"Whadda ya mean 'Big Mouth'?!"  Ranma interrupted.

"I mean about Dr. Tofu and," the girl broke off to stare at Ranma's chest 
then ripped open the front of Ranma's shirt, revealing his breasts.  
"When...  When did-???"

"I told you to wait!"

Behind them, unnoticed, a crowd of boys had gathered, dressed in various 
sports outfits.  They looked on to the scene between the two and gave a 
collective low whistle.

Ranma yelled, "Hey!  Get outta there you perverts!" as the girl whipped 
around into a defensive pose, "So-" she called, "Who's first today?"

The crowd sobbed collectively as one of the boys spoke, "Akane...  We shall 
no longer challenge you."

"Instead, we shall swallow our sobs," another boy said, "And give our 
approval to your engagement to Ranma!!"

Zhu Shu almost fell out of her tree.

"What in the name of ...." a still open shirted Ranma started, but was 
interrupted by an aside from Akane.  "Button your blouse!"  She hissed, then 
turned back to the crowd, "Now.  What in the name of ...."

"So then ..." A new voice interrupted, "You have all heard this _rumor_ ... 
this _falsehood-_"  the newcomer was a tall male who's chest and face were 
so swaddled in bandages that only his eyes were visible, "that Ranma Saotome 
_defeated_ me!"  Maniacal laughter echoed around the yard, "Upperclassman 
Kuno does not _admit_ to defeat!"

The crowd of crying boys turned back to Akane, "Kuno was the greatest 
fighter at Furinkan High!"  one said.

"Yeah!  And it's greatest pervert!" an anonymous voice called.

"Pervert!"  Kuno steamed.

"If it's Ranma you've chosen," the first speaker sobbed, "then we shall give 
you up"

Akane looked at Ranma, "they don't know a real pervert when they see one." 
she giggled

"I'll let that one slide."  Ranma growled.

The kendoist started to unwrap his bandages, "Kuno shall _not_ give you up!  
A hundred, two hundred kicks..." huge foot shaped bruises were revealed as 
the bandages fell away, "from a coward like Ranma ... do not even itch!!"

Zhu Shu watched as Ranma steamed and shook her head.  He had never listened 
to Zhu Shu about the importance of keeping his temper.

"Just who are you calling a coward?!" he asked as he stepped forward.  
"Can't admit that you lost, huh!?!"

"Watch it Ranma!" Akane called.

Kuno meanwhile had seemed to notice Ranma for the first time, "Ohhh!  It is 
you!"  He sobbed in joy, "My pigtailed goddess!"

Ranma froze.  "Urk!"

Zhu Shu giggled.  She had warned him!

"You just can't remember, can you?" Akane said resignedly.

Kuno stepped close to Ranma, "How I have pined to see you!"  Tears of joy 
dripped down his face.

"Whoa! Whoa!"  Ranma protested, "I thought you liked Akane!"

"Of course I do," Kuno replied puzzled.

"She's watching, you know!"

Kuno looked over to where Akane had deliberately turned her back, "No she's 
not."

Ranma looked at her, "Hey! Akane!  _Watch_ us already!"

"Please ... Upperclassman Kuno ..." Akane turned wide eyes towards the 
kendoist, "if you really love this girl ... I won't stand in the way!"  The 
one hand poised below her mouth gave her a look of heartbreak barely hidden. 
  Zhu Shu had to admire the artistry.

"Oh, Akane.  Akane ..." Kuno murmured in wonder as an irate Ranma called 
out, "Hey!  What gives here!?"

To thin air, Kuno emoted, "I won't stand in your way!  So noble!  So 
touching! So sweet!  Oh Akane!  How can I discard you!?!  I love you both!" 
he cried as he lunged towards the two girls and was met with a simultaneous 
kick and punch.  He went down twitching.

The crowd of boys looked on, "Well.  We've said our piece!"  They turned to 
go, "Give our congratulations to Ranma!"

Akane pushed the female Ranma the other way, "When I ...  uh ... see him.  
Sure"

Ranma said not a word as he walked off.  Zhu Shu sat back in the tree and 
thought about what had just happened.  There were so many levels to 
consider.  Shan Pu ... Ranma ... and now Akane....

She decided she was just going to have to watch them for a while and gather 
more information before deciding on a course of action.

Below her, Kuno groaned and set up.  Zhu Shu watched, approving of his 
stamina.  He might have been worthy as a possible husband candidate if it 
hadn't been so obvious he was as crazy as a loon.  He stood and looked 
around, "Oh, curse my weakness that I fainted!  My beloved's are gone!"  His 
sword lashed out to slice through  a tree.  Unfortunately, it happened to be 
the one Zhu Shu was using as a perch.  She leaped across to another tree, 
but Kuno was at the base of it too, "Spy!  Villain!  Assassin!  Show 
yourself!"  His blade hit the trunk and there were no other trees nearby.

Zhu Shu did a flip in mid air and led with one foot.  Kuno watched her 
descend, mesmerized.  He whispered, "lovely" just before her foot impacted 
with his face, and he crashed to the ground once again.  Zhu Shu landed 
lightly and frowned at the smile on Kuno's face.  She really was going to 
have to do something about panties soon.

* * * * *

At Gym class, Zhu Shu spied on Akane and Ranma as they participated in their 
separate activities, her vantage point too far away to hear what was being 
said.  The boys were apparently impressed with his gymnastics ability, but 
Zhu Shu knew he was just playing.  Ranma mostly ignored the boys, staring 
distractedly at Akane playing softball.

Zhu Shu smiled.  She knew that look.  He might fight it, he might deny it, 
he might even run away from it, and if she knew Ranma, he refused to admit 
it even to himself ... but he was interested.  Somehow, Akane had caught his 
interest in a way Zhu Shu herself had never done.

The softball confirmed it, at least well enough for her.  Had he not been 
distracted looking at Akane, he would have at least dodged the rather slow 
moving ball, instead of obliviously getting hit with it.

She sat back and considered.  This definitely meant complications for Shan 
Pu.  Ranma was a complete novice at anything dealing with relationships.  
While he might be interested in this Akane, likely he'd already started off 
badly with her, which could be an advantage.

But... she wanted to see Ranma happy.  She owed him that much at least for 
friendship's sake.  The question was what would make him happy, and could 
she reconcile his happiness with her oath to see him married to Shan Pu.  
Her eyes fell on the girl Ranma's gaze kept straying to.  She needed more 
information before she could decide.  She had to find out if Akane shared 
the same feelings.

* * * * *

>From her vantage in a squirrel's nest, the Chibi Urd who was watching Zhu 
Shu stared in amazement.  The Chinese girl might not have the ability to 
read minds, but she was better at untangling the conflicting array of 
emotions she could see from auras than Urd would have given anyone credit 
for.  Intrigued, she looked deeper into her.  What she saw brought a wide 
eyed look to her face and an awed "whoa."

Compared to the intrigues of the Mandarin court Zhu Shu had been trained to 
serve in, this was fairly simple.  She understood the emotions involved and 
even had a dozen different plans for either eliminating Akane as a rival if 
she didn't love Ranma, or grooming both of them to wed Shan Pu if she did.  
She had to admire such practicality!

Away on his throne in Asgard, Kami-Sama shook his head.  Urd had missed the 
point again.  She'd forgotten to look at the one truly important thing he 
had hoped she would see:  Why Zhu Shu was doing it.�

He had not yet given up hope that his selfish daughter would learn what it 
meant to do something just because she cared about a friend.

Still, it was one of the reasons he'd given her this assignment, though it 
was the smallest one.  She still had much to do to see it through.  So much 
depended on it.

He sighed.  Sometimes, even an Almighty has to have faith.

* * * * *

Zhu Shu followed Ranma and Akane for the rest of the day, having taken a 
break during their classes to return to the shrine and leave a note for the 
girls that she would be out late so there would be no class tonight.  Ranma 
had a bandage on his cheek from where Akane had hit him with the foul ball.  
She couldn't see what went on in the doctor's office, but when Akane left 
shortly after the arrival of a tall beautiful girl with a ponytail, Zhu Shu 
followed her.  After a period of wandering, she went into a large dojo house 
combo.  Zhu Shu found a vantage point to watch as she set up a training 
session.  Akane broke brick after brick until Ranma found her.  Zhu Shu 
moved to where she could watch Akane's face as they sparred.

"Come on!  Fight back!" Akane yelled as Ranma dodged "How can I work out my 
stress if you won't fight ?!"

"Akane," Ranma said as he dodged several other blows, "Don't you ever get 
tired of being angry all the time?"

"That's my business!" she yelled as he dodged yet another blow.

"Okay, but you know, you're cute when you smile."

>From her tree, Zhu Shu smiled at the expression in Akane's eyes and aura for 
that split second before Ranma caught her with a nerve strike to the 
forehead, "Blew it!" he cat called

Zhu Shu departed her tree to the sounds of Akane's protesting, "That wasn't 
fair," and made her way to the walkway outside.  She had her answer now.  
Akane was at least as interested as Ranma was.

So now she had to make a decision.  Her own conscience wouldn't let her 
destroy what  might be blossoming.  Her own love had been ripped away 
because of someone's deciding they knew what was best, there was no way she 
could do that to Ranma.

Yet, her oath and her bond to Shan Pu demanded she aid her blood-sister to 
achieve Ranma's marriage to Shan Pu.  Shan Pu had taught her much of Amazon 
society, and how absolute the laws were.  Shan Pu _had_ to marry Ranma.

Even if it meant killing Akane to eliminate a rival.

Yet, if what she had just seen was an indication, that would make Ranma 
unhappy, and possibly even hate Shan Pu, which would more or less mean she 
had failed in this quest too.

No.  There had to be a way to work it all out.  She sat on a bus stop bench 
to think.

Ranma was engaged, and at least seemed interested.  Akane seemed about the 
same.  Shan Pu, on the other hand, was head over heels in love with her 
visions of what Ranma had to be like.  She seemed to think that all it would 
take would be finding Ranma, explaining Amazon Law, then dragging him off to 
make babies happily ever after.  It wasn't that Shan Pu was unintellegent, 
she actually quite bright, but she was too used to other Amazons.  And Zhu 
Shu hadn't had much luck explaining that Ranma likely wouldn't respond as 
well as Shan Pu hoped.  He had too much pride to allow Shan Pu a dominant 
role in a relationship.

She thought back to what she had seen between Ranma and Akane already, and 
realized that the fights she had seen so far seemed to be along those same 
lines.  Both Ranma and Akane were too proud to bend, because they were so 
competative.  Still, compared to Shan Pu's pride, they were at least 
malleable.

And that meant she might have more luck getting them working to try and 
build a relationship of equals.  Then once she had that relationship 
established firmly, she could use that to convince Shan Pu that she would 
have more success making Akane a sister-wife than eliminating her.

So who to start with?

Feeling relieved that she had a course of action, she headed back to the 
shrine.  Tomorrow was time enough to decide.

* * * * *

The next morning, she pretended not to notice Rei trying to watch her 
secretly at her exercises, but she did do her hardest forms.  No sense in 
wasting the opportunity to show her exactly how much she had yet to learn.  
Rei's aura worried her a little, but at least it wasn't Usagi or Minako.  
Rei was a priestess, and hopefully mature enough to recognize a minor 
fascination with a novel stranger as what it was.  She could read the 
swirled tangle of admiration, envy and desire and know it wasn't serious 
yet, however muddled teenaged hormones could make the situation seem.  Rei 
was curious, and undecided if she should persue that curiousity.

Zhu Shu sighed.  She could sympathize with her.  Those years hadn't been 
easy on her either.  She'd had her own share of confused feelings.  She 
recalled that spring day in their cave with Ying Ying, and how mad her aunt 
had been at the blood on her dress.  How she had beaten her until she had 
told her what had happened.  How if her grandfather had not intervened, her 
aunt might have beaten her to death.  Nor had she forgotten one word of the 
_Lectures on Familial Duties_, or the _Duty of the Wife to Produce An Heir_. 
  That one day of innocent exploration and tenderness had led to two years 
of her aunt training her in the Marital Arts as well as her duties as an 
Imperial servant, and a further year of training in the _Duties of a 
Concubine to her Emperor_.

And, as her aunt had hoped, it had forever settled those questions in Zhu 
Shu's mind.

She'd always wondered if her aunt had been responsible for Ying Ying's 
family moving to another village a week after that day.  She'd stood at the 
edge of the village watching her wave goodbye from the back of her family's 
wagon, promising she'd never forget Zhu Shu.  Zhu Shu had watched until they 
were out of sight and had turned to find that miserable Sung Li looking at 
her with a grin, "Well, babe.  There goes your only competition for me.  
Guess you win by default!  Too bad  Would have been fun watching you two 
catfight over me."

She hadn't even been able to summon the will to hit him.

Back in the present, she closed her eyes and closed off the thoughts once 
more, only a single tear falling down her cheek as she exerted all of her 
mental discipline on her unruly memories and sealed them behind an iron 
wall.  She brought her forms to a close in a long moment of stillness, then 
put away her swords and walked over to put on her dress.  A mischievous 
impulse made her smile, and she blurred.

>From Rei's point of view, Zhu Shu disappeared, only to reappear right beside 
her.  Zhu Shu gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then vanished again as Rei 
collapsed in a heap, wide eyed and heart hammering, unsure if she was 
dreaming, and not sure if she wanted to be.

* * * * *

The Chinese herbalist had stared wide eyed at the list Zhu Shu had given 
him, written in neat Mandarin pictograms, and fingered the circular seal at 
the bottom, "Where did you get this symbol from, little one?"

Puzzled, Zhu Shu answered, "It is my clan's crest."

The herbalist blanched and a drop of sweat rolled down his temple, "I- I 
will have this order made by tomorrow, Revered One!"  He bowed and bowed as 
he vanished into the shop's back room.  Even more puzzled, Zhu Shu left the 
shop when it became clear that he wasn't coming back.  She walked down the 
street, feeling the weight of eyes all around her as the people all stared 
at her, and the air buzzed with a thousand conversations.  Unnerved, she 
ran.

On a rooftop outside of the Chinatown, She sat and tried to figure out what 
had happened, but none of it made sense.  They'd been staring at her like 
she was a goddess, a dream made real...  She couldn't understand it.  What 
did they think she was?

No answers came, and it was almost time for Ranma's school to start.

* * * * *

Ke Lun stared down the narrow trail to the the mouth of the cavern under the 
old Buddhist shrine.  She nodded to herself.  Well hidden and easily 
defended, a natural spot for hiding.  She could easily see how any 
surviviors of Clan Dragon would have viewed the secluded village as a haven. 
  Had she not had directions from Zhu Shu, she would have had to spend a day 
or more finding the secluded mountain valley.  While it was only a few days 
from the Amazon village, it was outside of their normal territory, and 
didn't carry on much trade with it's neighbors.  Three hundred years ago, it 
likely had been as hard to find as legendary Shangri-La, and even now, the 
road to the village was little more than a jeep track.  Only the fact that a 
local Magistrate for Quinghai province lived here had rated the construction 
of a road at all.

Various paths led from the cave mouth to the shrine, and to what looked to 
be a meadow higher up.  A small building stood at the entrance to the cave, 
bearing a Chinese flag.  Ke Lun smiled.  It looked to be about as well 
tended as the one at the PRC office in the Amazon village, though the house 
adjoining it was neat and orderly.  That would likely be the home of Sung 
Po, the magistrate, an unusual member of the Communist Party in that he kept 
the PRC influence in the province to a minimum.  He seemed to have no more a 
wish for the "benevolent" rule of the PRC than the Amazons did.

She had waited several months before coming, spending the time going over 
the old records, and studying the remains of the once proud Clan Dragon 
stronghold, discovering that a long since collapsed secret passage from the 
heart of the castle did exist.  Three hundred years ago, when the Musk had 
razed the castle, it had been undetectable.  The Amazons had come too late 
for anything but revenge, and bad blood had remained between the Musk 
Dynasty survivors and the Amazons.  The Musk had incurred a debt that could 
never be repaid, but had survived by locking themselves into their fortress. 
  There had been no way to eradicate them then, and little point in the 
centuries since.  The much reduced Dynasty wasn't worth the Amazon's time, 
however arrogant and skilled their prince was.

She took a deep breath.  The Amazons had failed in their oath then, and as 
the leader in charge of the contingent that had been sent to Clan Dragon's 
aid, she had felt that personally all these centuries.  Zhu Shu had been a 
godsend, a chance to redeem one of her failures.  But there was much that 
she had sensed that Zhu Shu had not been forthcoming about.  A bitterness 
she needed to get to the bottom of, and a seeming lack of certain knowledge 
that she would have expected the heir of Clan Dragon to possess.

A tall man with long white hair and a beard stepped out of the shadows of 
the cavern and looked at her.  Ke Lun could have sworn the way he moved 
looked familiar.  He seemed to be waiting for her.  Warily, she descended 
the trail, her senses on alert.  As she drew closer, she realized the man 
had no presence, she couldn't even sense his chi.  Finally close enough to 
see his face, she realized why.  It had to be Zhu Shu's grandfather.

He bowed as she stopped in front of him, "Greetings Ke Lun.  I assume since 
you have finally found us,  my  granddaughter found her way to your 
village?"

Ke Lun rasied an eyebrow, "Yes.  I admit, I was surprised to discover the 
survival of Clan Dragon."

The old man sighed, "I would hardly call my escape with my wife and child a 
survival, Ke Lun."

"Yet you did survive.  Why did you not come to us?  We would have defended 
you."

The old man shook his head sadly, "From what we fled, no.  We escaped 
because no-one knew we survived.  Had we come to your village for 
protection, the Amazons would be no more."

"We slaughtered the Musk.  Though we came to late to save the stronghold, we 
still held to our oaths. We could have protected you, helped you rebuild 
Clan Dragon.  You would not now be reduced sending the sole heir on a 
husband quest."

"No.  Not against what hunted.  The dragon guided me here, and has sheltered 
us since.

Ke Lun sighed, "That does not seem like you, Shi.  I remember the confident 
man who once tried to woo me.  You did not hide behind platitudes.  Or run 
scared."

The old man chuckled ruefully, "Survival has made me cautious, Ke.  And I 
learned a very hard lesson.  There are things no amount of physical skill 
will defeat."

"And what would that be, Shi?  The Amazons fear nothing.  Whatever it was we 
could have prevailed."

"Then suffice it to say I had already seen too many friends die, Ke.  I had 
no more stomach for death.  I came here to nurture life."

Ke Lun nodded sadly, "How many generations have called you grandfather 
since?"

The old man smiled ruefully, "Six.  Little Mouse is the last of the line.  I 
have done everything for her I can, given her as much leeway as I could 
while doing my duty, but she must marry and produce an heir."

Ke Lun nodded, "I agree.  Yet you seem saddened by this."

The old man nodded and turned to the cavern mouth, "Come. There is much I 
suppose you must learn about my beloved great-grandchild."

Ke Lun watched the old man enter the shadows, then followed.  Life had been 
full of surprises lately, what with Zhu Shu, and Shan Pu's prospective 
husband.  The last thing in the world she had expected was the only man to 
ever fight her to a draw, Song Shi Wang, Weapons Master of Clan Dragon, and 
once upon a time her best friend.

* * * * *

Zhu Shu spent the day observing Akane, and studying the Japanese school 
system. She wasn't sure how long she would be at this, and she might have to 
enter school to keep an eye on things.  She watched as Akane talked to her 
friends about Ranma and Akane's boy troubles, and other normal topics for 
schoolgirls, and by listening, Zhu Shu verified that Akane was as confused 
about her feelings as Ranma had always been about his, and just as 
competetive.  By the end of the school day, she'd had two more fights with 
Ranma, and Zhu Shu decided that the time had come for direct action.  She 
waited until Akane was alone in the practice yard working off her 
frustrations.

* * * * *

Akane smashed another brick with a cry of "Ranma!  You jerk!" and looked 
around for another one, but that had been her last.  Disappointed, she 
kicked a piece into the Koi pond and plopped down on a bench under a tree.

"Confusing he is, yes no?"

Akane nodded, "Very!"

"Give insult, then say nice thing."

"He's such a JERK!" Akane growled.

"He confused.  Not know how to say he care."

"Ha!  Right!  I wish I could believe that!"

"Akane confused too.  She not know how say either."

"Like I would want to!"

"Akane does.  Zhu Shu has seen way look at him."

Akane sighed, then did a double take and whirled.  A beautiful Chinese girl 
hung upside down from the tree looking at her curiously, "Akane not make 
easy for Ranma either.  Is too competitive too!"

Akane gaped, "W-w-w-who are y-you?"

The girl flipped and twisted midair to land in front of Akane.  She bowed, 
"Song Zhu Shu of China.  Song School of Sword Dance."  She straightened, 
"Friends call Zhu Shu.  Hope Akane is friend."

"Zhu Shu??" Akane asked.  The girl nodded, "What were you doing in my tree?"

"Zhu Shu watch Akane and Ranma.  Think Akane need someone talk to know Ranma 
well."

"You know Ranma?"  Quick surge of jealousy, "But- how?!  I've never seen you 
before!"  Ranma knew this beautiful girl?

Zhu Shu giggled, "Silly.  Ranma not just start existing on Akane doorstep!  
Zhu Shu follow Ranma since Jusenkyo."  She looked both ways as if looking 
for listeners then added in a conspiratorial tone, "Zhu Shu have to teach 
Ranma how to deal with curse.  Ranma nearly panic when have first period!"  
She laughed infectiously.

Akane had to join in, the image of what Ranma's reaction had to be was 
hysterical, and then Zhu Shu added, "Ranma thought he broken!"

"He must have thrown a fit!"  Akane giggled, "I'll bet he couldn't wait to 
change!"

"Zhu Shu not let!  Not have many pad!  Not let Ranma waste!"

"You mean he had to stay a girl all through it?!"  Akane had to hold her 
sides as she laughed, "Oh, what poetic justice!"

"Hey!  What are you laughing about Aka-"  Ranma froze at the door, "Zhu 
Shu!?!"

Zhu Shu waved, "Nihao, Ranma!  Zhu Shu come to Japan help with Fianc�e!"

"WHAT???"

Zhu Shu hopped over and patted Ranma on the cheek, "Of course.  Ranma not be 
trusted on own without friend to help!"

"Hey!  I'm not doing that badly!"

Zhu Shu looked over at Akane, "Zhu Shu would not have guessed!"

He fumed, "You don't know what she's like!  She acts like a guy!  Not like 
y-"  He broke off when he realized what he had been about to say.

"Not like WHAT?!"  Akane yelled as she took a step towards him.  Zhu Shu 
casually sidestepped and neither Ranma nor Akane saw her quick foot as she 
caught Akane's heel and gave her a boost.

Ranma had been prepared to dodge a punch, not the lurch Akane gave.  Before 
he could move, Akane had stumbled into his arms and her lips met his.

They both froze for a split second, then both jumped back, hearts pounding, 
looking wide eyed at each other.

"W-w-what w-was t-that f-for?!"  Ranma stuttered.

Akane blushed and turned away, "What was what for?"

"Y-you kissed me!"

"I-I did not!  I-I just...  fell!"

"Oh."  Ranma actually looked disappointed, "Well, if you had just a bit of 
grace!"

Akane's embarrassment turned to fury, "Why you- you- "  She swung a punch at 
Ranma which he started to dodge.

Again, their lips met.  Zhu Shu had caught Ranma's foot just as he had begun 
to move, and as a result, Akane's fist was straight out behind his head as 
he found himself face to face and lip to lip with her.

The frozen tableau held long enough for the sound of the wind to whistle, 
then they both jumped back, blushing furiously.

"So nice.  Ranma kiss Akane for apology."  Zhu Shu said sweetly as she stood 
to one side, her hands innocently behind her back..

"Wha-" Whatever else Ranma had been about to say was muffled as Zhu Shu's 
hand covered his mouth.

"How cute."  Zhu Shu continued, "Ranma all tongue tied!"  She smiled 
winningly at Akane, "He say he sorry.  Ask forgive?"  She gave Ranma a nerve 
poke and his eyes glazed in pain, "Right?"

Ranma looked at the finger still at the ready and nodded furiously.

Akane looked bewilderedly from the mad Chinese girl to a Ranma who was 
rapidly turning purple and looking at her with big pleading eyes.  Her lips 
still burned with the feel of Ranma's and she felt like she was in a daze, 
"It's alright..."  She said faintly "I forgive him ...."

She turned and wandered into the house.  She needed to sit down and let her 
head clear and maybe figure out what had just happened.

* * * * *

Ranma blinked twice after Akane, and even after Zhu Shu's hand left his 
mouth, it took him a few seconds to remember to breathe.  He'd never seen 
Akane act like that, except when looking at Dr. Tofu.  Certainly never after 
a fight with him.  He scratched his head and looked over at the Chinese girl 
sitting on the bench.

"Two questions, Zhu Shu.  One.  Why'd you do that for?  And two.  What's up 
with her?"

Zhu Shu shook her head and sighed.  He had so much to learn ...  but it was 
a start.

* * * * *

Kasumi came out of the kitchen to see Akane staring off into nothing, a 
stunned expression on her face as she absently pressed her lips, "Akane?"  
she asked worriedly.

"He ...  kissed me ..." was Akane's only reply.

Kasumi beamed.  That was so wonderful!  She went back to the kitchen to get 
Akane a cup of tea, but paused, looking out over the Koi pond.  Who was that 
Chinese girl Ranma was talking with?

She approached quietly to ask him and heard him talking to her, "But she's 
so angry all the time, Zhu Shu!  It's like she hates me!"

"Same girl who dazed by Ranma kiss?"

"Oh, come on Zhu Shu.  You know that only happened because you tripped me!"

"Zhu Shu should not have had to trip!"

"_Ahem_." Kasumi cleared her throat to let them know she was there, "Hello 
Ranma.  May I meet your friend?"

Ranma jumped, "Oh.  Hi Kasumi ... um, yeah ...  This is Zhu Shu.  She's from 
China," he seemed a little embarrassed.

The girl rose and gave Kasumi a deep bow and introduced herself formally, 
"Song Zhu Shu, of China."

Pleased at such politeness, Kasumi smiled and introduced herself , "And I am 
Kasumi Tendo.  Would you like some tea?"

"Zhu Shu would be honored," a glance and a slight roll of her eyes indicated 
she thought Ranma should have already offered, and Kasumi silently agreed.  
She invited them into the house and inquired as she led the way, "May I ask 
what brings you to Japan?"  Ranma's body language told her there was far 
more between them than a casual acquaintance.  He was far too relaxed around 
her.

"Zhu Shu comes hunt Ranma.  Abandoned at Amazon village.  Zhu Shu think 
should kill for leaving her to fight Amazons alone.  But, decide too much 
friend to kill," the Chinese girl said lightly.

"_W-w-what_?!" a very taken aback Ranma looked at her in horror.

Kasumi could tell from her tone and body language that she wasn't serious, 
but Ranma obviously didn't,  "_Abandoned_!?!  Pop's said that you had asked 
us to escort you there!  I thought it was where you were going!"

Zhu Shu sighed, "Should have guessed.  Panda man big liar," Kasumi noted the 
resignation in the Chinese girl's voice and figured she had reasons not to 
like Mister Saotome much.  She was very curious, but it would be impolite to 
ask.  She got them sat around the small kitchen table and bustled around 
getting tea things together as Ranma continued.

"You mean that wasn't where you were going?  Man, if I had known that, I 
would never have left you there!  I thought you'd be safe."

"Zhu Shu nearly have to fight whole Amazon tribe.  Only fact Clan Dragon she 
did not."  There was a strong hint of amusement in her voice.

"Oh man, Zhu Shu.  I am so sorry!"

Kasumi raised an eyebrow.  He not only sounded sincere, but actually 
contrite.  This girl must mean a lot to him.  She studied her in the 
reflections on the kettle.

Zhu Shu was looking him up and down with a calculating look in her eye, 
"Ranma sorry?  Wish make up to Zhu Shu?"  Kasumi frowned.  The girl was 
definitely up to something.  Kasumi hoped she wasn't setting Akane up for a 
heartbreak.

"Anything!" Ranma said firmly

"On honor Saotome name?"  Zhu Shu prodded.

"Yes, Zhu Shu.  Just tell me what you want me to do!"

The small Chinese girl got up and leaned over to poke Ranma in the chest, 
"_No punish Akane for not be Zhu Shu!_"

Kasumi dropped the kettle as Ranma froze.

In the silence that followed, Zhu Shu spoke, "Ranma _not_ want Akane be like 
Zhu Shu.  _Believe_ Zhu Shu."  She turned and sat down again.

Kasumi recovered and moved to pick up the kettle, "Oh, how clumsy of me."  
She grabbed a mop to clean up the mess.

Ranma finally got his voice back, "But Zhu Shu, she's so unfeminine!  She 
acts like a boy!  Not like a girl at all!"

"And think Zhu Shu does?"

"Yes!  You act like a girl!  You're the classiest girl I know!"

"And think Akane should be like?"

"Yes!"

Zhu Shu looked away, "Really think Akane should be like Zhu Shu?  No.  Ranma 
not know what he say."  There was a strange edge to her voice.

"Yes I do.  You taught me all I know about females!  You showed me what a 
real female acts like!"

"So you punish Akane for not be like Zhu Shu?!  Fight with her, call her 
name?"  Shadows overhung the Chinese girls face, "Maybe want Zhu Shu teach 
Akane be like her?!"

"Why not?" Ranma yelled, "Then she'd act like a real girl."

Zhu Shu stood, "Maybe Zhu Shu should _show_ what type of girl is.  Maybe not 
want Akane act like that."  Her voice was strained.  Kasumi paused her 
mopping to look at her.  Was she okay?

Ranma was oblivious, caught up in his rant, "But I like your type of girl 
Zhu Shu.  You're all soft and fem...a..."

He trailed off out of pure shock.  Zhu Shu had moved and swept Kasumi into 
an embrace as she planted a long kiss on her.

The mop handle bounced on the floor.

Kasumi was too shocked even to protest, and by the time she had recovered 
enough composure to act, Zhu Shu had released her, and turned to Ranma, 
"_Now_ understand?  Zhu Shu teach Ranma about girl because she want him be 
girl!  She like girl!  Ranma take care.  Akane cute girl ... Not treat 
_better_, maybe Zhu Shu steal!"  She turned and stalked out the door.

Kasumi and Ranma stared after her, then Kasumi looked down to the small note 
that had been left in her hand.  She read the barely legible Kanji, written 
even more brokenly than Zhu Shu's speech, and blushed slightly.  Her hand 
came to her lips as she said, "Oh my!" softly and looked out the door after 
the vanished girl again.

She agreed with the letter that Ranma would not have gotten the point 
without blunt trauma, and she could forgive Zhu Shu for the surprise.

But she hadn't expected to be thanked for such a wonderful kiss.





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